Two Afghan Trainees Missing From Air Force Base in Georgia

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Dec. 9, 2015 / 1:52 AM GMT / Updated Dec. 9, 2015 / 1:52 AM GMT

By Jim Miklaszewski

The U.S. Air Force and Georgia police on Tuesday were searching for two Afghan trainees who failed to show up for their training at Moody Air Force Base in southern Georgia on Monday.

The two trainees have been at Moody AFB since February and were screened and vetted before arriving in the U.S. more than a year ago, the Air Force base said in a statement.

"The students have trained alongside American counterparts for the entirety of 2015 and do not pose any apparent threat," the statement said. "There is a well-coordinated process among federal agencies to locate the individuals as quickly as possible and return them accordingly to the proper authorities to manage their present situation."

A Defense Department official repeated that neither missing trainee is believed to pose any kind of threat, and said that with all the U.S.-based training the military does with foreign service members, occasionally individuals leave base without authorization.

But the terror attack in San Bernardino, California, last week that was carried out by a couple who are believed to have been radicalized has raised concerns near the base where the trainees went missing, the official said, and the military is working with law enforcement to find the two men.

Air Force and Defense Department officials said the missing trainees were receiving maintenance instruction at Moody AFB. They were assigned to the 81st Fighter Squadron. The base is near Valdosta, Georgia, about 30 miles from the border with Florida.

In September of 2014, three Afghan National Army soldiers disappeared during a training exercise in Cape Cod, and were later found trying to cross into Canada near Niagara Falls, officials said. Officials said at the time it was believed the trio did not want to return to Afghanistan.